1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic shift lever formed on a console surface of a vehicle, and more particularly, to an organ type electronic shift lever in which a gear shift stage of a vehicle is changed when a shift lever connected to a step motor by a lever arm is moved forward and rearward while forming an inclination angle with a console surface.
2. Description of Related Art
A transmission is an apparatus that transmits power of an engine to drive wheels while changing rotational force and speed depending on a driving state of a vehicle, and classified into a manual transmission and an automatic transmission. Regarding the manual transmission and the automatic transmission, the driver in the vehicle may select a desired state using a shift lever.
In the manual transmission, when the driver selects a gear, which is suitable for a driving state of the vehicle, using the shift lever, this selection is transmitted to the manual transmission through a cable or a rod so that the driver may drive the vehicle in a desired manner. In the automatic transmission, the driver drives an inhibitor switch through a cable by moving the shift lever so as to transmit desired movement to the automatic transmission.
Particularly, recently, usage of an electronic shift lever, which allows for electronic gear shift control that uses an actuator and an ECU for electrically operating a mechanical connection structure between the transmission and the shift lever instead of a mechanical shift lever, is increased.
The electronic shift lever requires no mechanical cable connection structure unlike the mechanical shift lever, and needs to have a position sensor unit that converts the driver's intention of shifting gears into an electronic signal, but there are advantages in that the driver may efficiently and conveniently manipulate the shift lever.
However, as illustrated in FIG. 1A, an electronic shift lever in the related art is manipulated by manipulating forward and rearward a shift lever 2 that protrudes on a console surface 1 of a vehicle, and this manipulation manner is similar to the manipulation manner of the mechanical shift lever, and there is no great advantage of only the electronic shift lever in comparison with the mechanical shift lever.
That is, since the shift lever 2 protrudes on the console surface 1 of the vehicle, there are problems in that the driver's head may collide with the protruding shift lever 2 at the time of a vehicle accident, which may cause severe injury to the driver, and aesthetic appearance deteriorates in terms of interior design.
Since the electronic shift lever in the related art occupies a larger space, there are problems in that a space for accommodating a cup holder and the like or a space for performing functions of buttons required to drive the vehicle is insufficient at the periphery of the shift lever.
Since in the electronic shift lever in the related art, a gear shift stage display unit needs to be accommodated at a handle portion of the shift lever that protrudes on the console of the vehicle, the gear shift stage display unit is inevitably formed to have a small size, and as a result, there are problems in that a text size on the gear shift stage display unit is small, and thus it is difficult for the driver to recognize information on the gear shift stage.
As illustrated in FIG. 1B, in the electronic shift lever in the related art, when the driver in the vehicle changes the gear shift stage from a P-stage to an R-stage, an N-stage, or a D-stage, the arm of the driver is ergonomically directed downward gradually, but all manipulation heights of the electronic shift lever are nearly similar to each other, and as a result, there is a problem in that it is inconvenient for the driver to change the gear shift stage of the vehicle.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.